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| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Drugs | Information has been added to reflect the reclassification of nitrous oxide as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (as amended). |
| Smoking | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | Definitions have been updated in line with revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines | Minor amendments have been made to definitions in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | A new section has been added on Other Harmful Practices. The Health and Care Act 2022 has made it illegal to carry out, offer or aid and abet virginity testing or hymenoplasty in any part of the UK. It is also illegal for UK nationals and residents to do these things outside the UK. Information has also been added on Breast Flattening which is an offence as set out in CPS So-Called Honour-Based Abuse Legal Guidance. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | A link has been added in the Further Information section to Ofsted Guidance Children’s Homes that Provide Care and Accommodation for Adults. |
| Next Update: January 2025 |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been refreshed, and additional links added in Further Information. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Information has been added into Section 5, Initial Actions if a Child goes Missing, in relation to Philomena Protocols. |
| Leadership and Management | Section 2.2, Appointment of Manager has been updated in line with updated Ofsted Guidance - Social Care Common Inspection Framework: Children's Homes. |
| Staffing and Safer Recruitment | New sections have been added in to Section 2, Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks, on Prospective Staff Spending Time in the Home and Carrying Out Interviews, in line with updated Ofsted guidance. A link has been added to information on DBS Digital Identity Verification Guidance. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been updated. |
| Providing Personalised Care | This chapter has been updated. |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been updated. |
| Advocacy, Independent Visitors and Independent Reviewing Officers | This chapter has been updated. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated. |
| Leisure and Activities | This chapter has been updated. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Information in relation to allergies has been added into Section 2, Health Care Plans. |
| Health and Wellbeing, Health Notifications and Access to Services | This chapter has been updated. |
| Provision and Preparation of Meals | Information in relation to allergies has been added into Section 1, Responsibility and Risk Assessments. |
| First Aid, Home Remedies and Medication | A new Section 2, Allergies has been added. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This chapter has been updated. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers within Children's Homes | This chapter has been amended in line with revised Keeping Children Safe in Education. A new Section 2, The Difference Between an Allegation of Harm and a Concern has been added. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | This chapter has been amended to include a link to Self-harm: Assessment, Management and Preventing Recurrence NICE Guidance in Relevant Information and Guidance. |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This chapter has been updated. |
| Staff Qualifications | This chapter has been updated. |
| Staff Supervision and Appraisal | This chapter has been updated. |
| Care and Placement Planning | This chapter has been updated. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Equality and Diversity | This chapter has been added. |
| Consultation and Participation | This chapter has been added. |
| Health and Safety | This chapter has been added. |
| Supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities | This chapter has been added. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | This chapter has been added. |
| Leadership and Management | This chapter has been added. |
| Recording and Reporting of Incidents | This chapter has been added. |
| Staffing and Safer Recruitment | This chapter has been added. |
| Risk Assessment and Planning | This chapter has been added. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Family Time | Section 3, Supervised Family Time has been updated to reflect a finding by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that the supervisor's observations of the contact must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents within 3 months of the visit. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | The relevant guidance section has been updated to resources to support parents and carers to talk with children about online safety. |
| Education | This chapter has been amended throughout to reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance and the outcome of Ofsted’s thematic report, Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. Please see the Section 5, Safeguarding in Schools. A new Section 2.1, Placing the Child and Section 2.2,The Role of the Virtual Head (VSH) have been added and additional material has enhanced the Personal Education Plans (PEPs). Section 5, Safeguarding in Schools has been updated to reflect the importance of sharing allegations or concerns about an adult’s behaviour as set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education. |
| Drugs | This chapter has been updated. |
| Smoking | This chapter has been updated. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | A link to Ofsted Guidance Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish has been added. |
| Countering Bullying and Peer Abuse | This chapter has been amended to reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance, the outcome of Ofsted’s thematic report, Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. See Section 2, Definition of Bullying and Peer Abuse and Section 3, Responding to Bullying. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers within Children's Homes | KCSIE highlights the importance of sharing and responding to any concerns, about the behaviour of an adult who works with children, no matter how small. This chapter has been revised to also consider low level concerns, with a new section added in relation to the differences between an ‘allegation’ and a concern. |
| Placements and Admissions | This chapter has been amended to note the importance of a child’s belonging’s being transferred in appropriate luggage and to add a link to the NYAS ‘My Things Matter’ Report – support and respect care-experienced children and their belongings when they move (see Section 3, Planning) |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been amended to add a link to the NYAS ‘My Things Matter’ Report – support and respect care-experienced children and their belongings when they move (see Section 2, Arrangements for the transfer to Another Home). |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Alcohol | This chapter has been added. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Residential Child Care – Key Principles | This chapter has been given a general refresh. |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | Links have been added in Relevant Guidance to the NSPCC Report Remove Tool and the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) Digital Passport. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Information Sharing | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect updated advice on information sharing contained in the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout. |
| Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This guidance has been updated to reflect changes contained in the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Staff Qualifications and Employment Checks | A note has been added regarding the checks which employers must carry out to ensure that any person applying to work in the home has the right to work in the UK. See Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | A link to the publication Joint Housing Protocols for Care Leavers: Good Practice Advice (DfE and MHCLG) has been added into the Relevant Guidance Section. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines | This new guidance provides information on Child Criminal Exploitation, including county lines. It describes the signs and indicators that children are being exploited, and offers guidance for staff in Children's Homes on how they can respond to keep children safe from harm linked to criminal exploitation. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Notifications of Serious Events | This procedure has been updated to reflect the latest Ofsted guidance for social care providers on the types of incident which they consider to be serious, and which therefore will require notification to the regulatory authority. New sections on the quality of notifications and learning from notifications have been added. |
| Staff Qualifications and Employment Checks | This guidance has been reviewed and updated as required. Section 3, Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks is new. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This new guidance is based on information for Children’s Homes Providers on the use of surveillance and monitoring published by Ofsted. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers within Children's Homes | This procedure has been reviewed and updated throughout. |
| Notification of Serious Events | This procedure, which sets out which agencies and individuals should be notified when a serious event occurs in relation to a child living in a Children’s Home, has been updated to reflect revised guidance issued by Ofsted. The revised guidance sought to clarify what is meant by a ‘serious event’ with the aim of reducing the overall number of notifications made to Ofsted, and in particular reducing the number of repeat notifications made as a result of submitting additional / updated information. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Notification of Serious Events | This chapter has been significantly updated therefore should be re-read in it’s entirety. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Section 2, Arrangements for the Transfer or Discharge has been updated to include a note on the actions placing authorities are required to undertake if a young person is moving from the home into an unregulated placement. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Information Sharing | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect Working Together to Safeguard Children and the revised DfE Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners Providing Safeguarding Services to Children, Young People, Parents and Carers. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated to reflect amendments introduced by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. These changes relate to the status of ‘previously looked after children’. A previously looked-after child is one who is no longer looked after in England and Wales because they are the subject of an Adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order which includes arrangements relating to with whom the child is to live, or when the child is to live with any person, or has been adopted from ‘state care’ outside England and Wales. A new Section 5, Safeguarding in School has been incorporated. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | Section 6, Sexual Abuse and Section 8, Bullying (including Online/Cyberbullying) have been reviewed and completely updated. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation | Links have been added to resources for practitioners working with children who have been, or are at risk of, Child Sexual Exploitation published by Barnardos and Research in Practice. |
| Care and Placement Plans Guidance | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Information in relation to Pathway Plans has been updated to reflect that care leavers can request support from local authorities up to the age of 25 years. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Information Sharing and Confidentiality | This chapter has been updated in line with the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. |
| Access to Records | This chapter has been updated in line with the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. |
| Smoking and Alcohol | This chapter has been substantially updated and should be re-read in its entirety. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | This chapter has been substantially updated and should be re-read in its entirety. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Residential Child Care – Key Principles | Section 3, Achieving the Key Principles has been updated to reflect the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018, and explains that children in residential care should be helped to understand the types of personal information which is kept in their case records, what it is used for, who it will be shared with and how long it will be kept for. The child’s right to access their case record should also be explained to them. |
| Children’s Guide | This section has been updated following publication of the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018 to recommend that Children’s Guides contain information for children and young people on the data / records which the home keeps on them, as well as explaining the right of children and young people to access their case file. |
| Case Recording | This guidance has been reviewed and updated following publication of the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018. |
| Contact with Parents / Carers / Siblings and Others | Section 2, Different Types of Contact has been updated to take account of the use of mobile communication with regards to contact. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Section 1, Health Care Assessments has been updated with regard to consent to medical treatment. |
| Offending and Anti-Social Behaviour – Guidance on when to Involve the Police | Section 1.1, Missing Children has been revised to take account of the revised College of Policing definition of missing and absent. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect Guidance | This guidance has been reviewed and updated to reflect current Government guidance on safeguarding children and the responsibility which is shared among all professionals to keep children safe and promote their welfare. |
| Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect current Government guidance on safeguarding children and emphasises that keeping children safe and promoting their welfare is a responsibility of all staff working in the home, not just managers and key workers. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation | Section 1, Introduction has been revised throughout to include additional information on the nature of child sexual exploitation and its impact on young people. Section 2, Indicators of Possible Sexual Exploitation has also been updated to reflect the complexity of child sexual exploitation, including situations where young people are both perpetrators and victims of abuse. |
| Identifying and Supporting Children and Young People Vulnerable to Violent Extremism including Radicalisation | Section 1, Introduction / Definitions has been updated to include additional information for staff on what is meant by the term extremism; an explanation of the processes by which young people can be exposed to the messages of extremist groups has also been added. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | This guidance has been updated to clarify the distinct roles and responsibilities of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the homes’ senior manger in relation to the handling of allegations against staff and volunteers. |
| Representations and Complaints | Contact details for the Children’s Commissioner Help at Hand Service have been added to this chapter. Any looked after child living in a residential care home can contact the Help at Hand Service for support, advice and information. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | Section 2, Planning and Prevention has been updated to provide additional guidance for staff on how to respond to young people in our care who are feeling suicidal or who are self harming. A note has also been added on the importance on offering appropriate support to staff members and other young people living in the home when incidents of self harm have taken place. |
| Visitors to the Home | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and refreshed as required. |
| Notification of Serious Events | The title of this document has been revised to ‘Notification of Serious Events’ to provide clarity and better reflect terminology used in the Children’s Homes Regulations and Quality Standards. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | This chapter has been updated to add clarification in relation to Qualifying Young People. See Section 1, Definitions. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Smoking and Alcohol | Section 1.1, E-cigarettes / Vapes has been added. |
| Countering Bullying and Peer Abuse | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Looked After Reviews | Section 2, Frequency of Looked After Reviews has been updated to reflect when they should be bought forward. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | This guidance has been updated to include information on the role of residential care workers in supporting young people who are experiencing gender identity issues (see Section 3.2, Gender). |
| Case Recording | A note has been added into Section 17, Records must usually be Retained After Closure to remind all staff no children’s social care records should be destroyed while the National Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is on-going. |
| Social Visits (Including Overnight Stays) | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Advocacy and Independent Visitors | This chapter has been updated to add a link to the Children’s Society ‘Advocacy services for children and young people – a guide for commissioners’. This guide outlines the legislative requirements of local authorities in the provision of advocacy support to children in need and looked after children. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | A link has been added to Children’s Attachment: Attachment in Children and Young People who are Adopted from Care, in Care or at High Risk of Going into Care - NICE Guidelines (NG26) in the Related Guidance and Information section. |
| Sexual Health and Relationships | Section 3, Pornography has been updated to include advice for staff on how to deal with issues relating to young people’s access to pornography online. |
| Drugs and Substance Misuse | A link has been added to The Home Office ‘New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Resource pack for informal educators and practitioners in the Related Information section. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation | Section 1, Introduction has been updated to take account of the change of definition in: Child Sexual Exploitation: Definition and Guide for Practitioners (DfE February 2017). |
| Allegations Against Staff | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
2016 Amendments
(Please note these archived amendments reflect a previous version of the manual).
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Education | Links to Promoting the Education of Looked After Children (Statutory Guidance July 2014) and Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years: Statutory Guidance for Organisations who work with and Support Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (2014) have been added to the Relevant Guidance section. |
| Telephones and Correspondence | A link has been added to Child Safety Online in the Related Information section. |
| Advocacy and Independent Visitors | Section 2, Duties of an Advocate and a new section Relevant Guidance have been added. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statements of Purpose | This information has been added. |
| Children's Guide | This information has been added. |
